People in the NBA know there are certain games you just aren’t supposed to win.

For once, we’re not talking about the Mavericks.

In this case, they were on the receiving end of a scheduling gift and, to their credit, they made the most of the situation. They jumped the dog-tired Memphis Grizzlies in the first half and never let them get back on their feet, powering to a 104-83 blowout win Saturday at American Airlines Center.

The Grizzlies, who had gone to overtime Friday night to beat San Antonio in Memphis, clearly had very little in common with the team that came into the evening just a couple of losses away from the best record in the NBA. They looked exhausted.

But for a team like the Mavericks that has nine losses by 19 points or more, it was a joyous night to enjoy just their fourth victory of the season by that much.

“We’re leading the league in 20-point losses,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “We got to build on the momentum we got in Sacramento. Hopefully, that win got us some confidence.

“But obviously, Memphis had a tough one last night. They had an emotional win over a great team, and they looked a step slow. I thought from the beginning we set a good tone and gave them nothing easy.”

Hey, the Mavericks have been on the other end of this equation before. So regardless of the circumstances, they did what they needed to do, and they have created not only a shred of momentum, but shown that they learned a lot during a tough December when they lost 13 of 15.

It was a great start to an important stretch of six home games in the Mavericks’ next seven contests. If they’re ever going to make a move to save the season, now is the time.

“We’re trying to start taking some baby steps,” said Shawn Marion, who had a season-best 20 points.

“Very important,” O.J. Mayo said. “We’ve got some days at home to catch back up. Most definitely, we’ve got to make a big push here.”

In winning for the second time in a row, the Mavericks were able to string together consecutive victories for the first time since they won three straight from Dec. 6-10.

Nowitzki found his shooting touch with 17 points on just eight shots from the field. Marion made a living streaking to the rim for easy buckets, and the Mavericks shot the ball well over 50 percent virtually throughout the game.

This came against one of the best defenses in the NBA, statistically.

“The fact we kept turnovers down [a season-low-tying nine] was really important,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “Our energy was good. It was clear they were lacking some energy, and we needed to take advantage of it and we did. It was the kind of game we need. We need more of these. But they’re hard to come by.”

At the very least, the Mavericks (15-23) looked like a team that knew how to play the role of the alpha dog. Maybe they did learn from all those frustratingly bad losses that came in December.

“I would think the kinds of things we’ve gone through would make anybody stronger,” Carlisle said. “There’s a long way to go. We got to build on positives and keep looking to wipe out negatives.”

There simply weren’t many negatives Saturday. The Mavericks scored seven consecutive points to go up 18-11 and bumped it to 30-18 early in the second quarter. They led by 18 in that period and were up, 54-39, at halftime.

It wasn’t a mirage. They led by 34 in the second half.

No matter the conditions the Grizzlies were fighting through, the Mavericks looked like a confident, strong team that was ready to start resurrecting its season.

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